What to Do Every Month for Local SEO (Week by Week)

Why it has to be monthly

Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence, and it defines prominence as "how well-known a business is." (Google Business Profile help) That's the part you keep earning.

Reviews show why steady matters. Sterling Sky's 2025 study found that "the number of reviews you've gotten this month matters more than your total number of reviews." (Sterling Sky) In Whitespark's 2026 survey, local search experts ranked review recency #11 for Maps and a "Sustained Influx of Reviews Over Time (rather than bursts)" #14. (Whitespark)

So the plan below is our recommendation: small, the same every month, split into four weeks. The times are our estimates for a small local business.

Week 1: a post and some photos (about 45 minutes)

One Google post about a service or a recent job, with a real photo.

Be honest about what posts do. There's no evidence they move your Maps ranking. Google's ranking page doesn't list them, a small 2021 Sterling Sky test found they "had no measurable impact on rankings in the local pack," and Whitespark's experts put post frequency at #148 of 187 for Maps. (Sterling Sky, Whitespark)

So why post? Because people who find you see them. And you can now check whether they do: Google brought back post reporting in October 2026, with "view counts for all post types." (Search Engine Roundtable)

Two rules to know. Posts are archived after 6 months: "Posts older than 6 months are archived unless a date range is set." (Google Business Profile help) And Google "may remove posts with unverified contact information," such as phone numbers, email addresses and social media handles. (Search Engine Roundtable)

3 to 5 new photos of your team, your work and your place. Google wants them "in focus and well lit, and have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters." (Google Business Profile help) For visual businesses like restaurants and salons, Sterling Sky found "having recent photos does help." (Sterling Sky)

Week 2: one page (2 to 3 hours)

Write one new page, or make one old page better. Pick a service you offer or a question customers ask you every week.

Whitespark's experts rank a dedicated page for each service as the #1 factor for local organic results. (Whitespark)

Write it for people. Google: "People-first content means content that's created primarily for people, and not to manipulate search engine rankings." And there's no magic length. Asked if it has a preferred word count, Google says: "(No, we don't.)" (Google Search Central)

One thing not to do: copy a page and swap the town name. Google's spam rules call out "multiple domain names or pages targeted at specific regions or cities that funnel users to one page." (Google Search Central)

Week 3: a second post, and ask for reviews (about 1 hour)

Post #2: a tip, a seasonal reminder or an event.

Then send your review link to every customer from the last few weeks. Everyone, not just the ones you think loved it. Google bans businesses that "selectively solicit positive reviews from customers." (Google's contribution policy)

Asking works. In BrightLocal's 2026 survey, 83% of people who were asked to leave a review left one, and 74% look for reviews from the last three months. (BrightLocal)

Reply to every review as it comes in. 89% of consumers expect owners to respond. (BrightLocal) The full routine is in How to Get More Google Reviews.

Week 4: your numbers (1 to 2 hours)

Open Search Console, Analytics and Clarity. Find one or two things to fix, and fix them. Here's what to look for.

Check your profile for suggested edits too. Owners have "4 days to accept or reject the suggestion." After that, Google "may automatically publish the update." (Search Engine Roundtable)

Then write down what you changed. The date, the page and what you did. Next month you'll know what worked.

What this isn't

It isn't posting every day, or chasing a trick. It's the same few things done every month.

Drop 08 has this month as a checklist you can tick off, with our time estimate for every task.